charging for the NHS

Prescrition charges are going up again . The idea of free healthare at the point of need no longer applies to the NHS on many points so maybe it's time to be more honest about it and make the payments more open rather than having to pretend. The idea of a totally free healthcare system is very nobel but what I've seen in the NHS over the last 18 months makes me really start to think about the advantages that private care could bring. We are told that over the last 2 years the system has seen the biggest investment of cash in its history but as an insider I can see no evidence of this at all. Working in the NHS means that every day there is no spare money for anything including training , upgrading building or new equipment. The NHS in general and physiotherapy in particular is dependent on charitable donations and penny pinching to survive. Because we're coming to the end of the financial year I know of a reliable account of one service where the staff cannot order any stationary until April. I can remember being in the situation in the past where this happened and we could not have any more pens for a few weeks. Anyone working in industry would not believe this happens. Training is another thing. I've been on courses where staff were paying for it themself and doing it in their own time. Everyone knows when it comes to job applications that courses give the applicant an advantage [although job intervies are becoming a forgotten event in the current NHS]. Why should NHS staff have to pay out of their own money to do their jobs? Isn't it time to speak out about the hidden descrimination this creates by favouring those with larger disposable incomes and descriminating against those who cannot afford to do this?